Three Wishes
by Aoi Kitsune12
Summary: This is an AU from ChibiLover123's story, When Waves Meet the Sand. It's set in the Disney movie Aladdin. The first time, he saw Princess Kumiko, he didn't even know who she was. When she met Gaara, she was just trying to escape.
1. Prolouge:The Cave of Wonders

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, A:TLA, or When Waves Meet the Sand. **

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Prologue

A dry wind pushed around the sand of the vast desert. The scratchy grains scraped up against a silhouette who was approaching a second one.

"So this is it," a raspy came from a hunched and cloaked figure, "the key to the Cave of Wonders, and the power within."

A young silver haired man nodded, and held out a hand covered in a fingerless glove. In it, a gleam of gold revealed half of a scarab beetle.

"You have the other half I presume?" The silver haired man's question was answered when a similar metal half fell from behind a piece of cloth covering where the first man's mouth would be.

"Put them together Kabuto," he ordered. Kabuto bent down and picked up the second half of the golden beetle. He brought the two halves close together. They pulled to each and connected with a snap, before shuddering while emitting sparks and glowing, before tearing out of Kabuto's gloved hands and flying away.

"After it," the hunched figure rasped. The figure moved forward, with surprising speed, faster than that of an average human being. Kabuto followed close behind with ease.

The glowing insect led the pair through the deepening night, to a sand dune where the beetle split into two halves once more, landing in a fashion that appeared that resembled eyes.

The ground began shake as the dune took on a cat-shaped head. The twin halves of the scarab glowed as the giant feline head's eyes.

"Who disturbs my slumber?" it roared in a deep voice.

"Go," Kabuto was told. He nodded, hands shaking slightly and approached the glaring head.

"Yakushi Kabuto," he answered. The head eyed him, as if evaluating his worth.

"Know this. Only one may enter here, one whose worth lies far within. A diamond in the rough."

The statement made Kabuto's eyes flick nervously to his companion. The only response was the raising of what looked to be a tail, in a threatening manner. The white protrusion was segmented with a deadly white that seemed to be pointed where Kabuto's heart was.

Kabuto looked away then, back toward the sand head. Its glowing eyes reflected off of Kabuto's glasses. The silver haired man inhaled deeply, and exhaled before walking into the feline's open mouth.

A warm breeze pushed against his face before being replaced by a cold wind against his back, as if the head was breathing.

Kabuto's glass covered eyes peered through the sand cave's open mouth. The sand glowed gold as the torches lighting the way down the stairs cast its luminescence over the loose grains.

Carefully he stepped into the cave, his body stiffening. When no flaming arrows shot at him, no trapdoors opened under his feet, when nothing happened, Kabuto relaxed. The moment the tension left his body, a roar tore through the air and he noticed the cave imploding.

Cursing he attempted to jump back out of the cave. He succeeded until he felt the sand collapse on his leg, slowing his movements. Then it began to solidify around his leg, and pull him into the dune.

"Pull me out," he yelled toward the lone figure he had traveled with.

The hunched figure watched as the silver haired man struggled and called out to him.

"Why should I reward you, when you have failed?" before turning and walking out of Kabuto's sight.

Kabuto watched as the figure moved away. The expressions on his face showed anger, then horror, before finally settling on resignation.

Despite what he had decided, Kabuto continued to struggle, trying to free himself. The sand continued to pull him in and he swore he could almost hear maniac laughter.

The sand began to pull faster and self-preservation and panic set in. Kabuto fought his fate, but soon the sand closed over his head, leaving only the two halves of the scarab, whose glow faded, leaving them dull.

The figure from before approached the pieces and picked them up with its tail.

"A diamond in the rough, then," it said looking at the scarab, "Where to find one of those.

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**A/N: So review please! The next chapter should be up soon, since I'm on break. I have ChibiLover123's permission for this story. If you want to read the original, I highly recommend it. In the next chapter, Gaara may seem OOC, but that's because Shukaku wasn't sealed into him at birth. I have different plans for the one tail. **


	2. An Encounter and a Dream

**A/N: Well this chapter was a long time in coming. I actually had it written, but it was put in a drawer and it slipped my mind. Gaara will probably seem OOC in this story, as I mentioned before, and that is because the Ichibi was never sealed within him. I have better plans for that *smile evilly*. Enjoy!**

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An Encounter and a Dream

A red haired boy jumped the gap between the two rooftops and ran quickly over the surface. Behind him a pair of red faced guards followed. "Boy! Come back here with that bread," the taller one shouted. The teen simply kept running, waving the loaf tauntingly over his shoulder.

The shorter, broader guard removed a pair of four pointed throwing stars and flung them toward the retreating thief with practiced accuracy.

The red head moved to the side to dodge a pile of boxes in his way, and then flinched as the stars whistled past him.

Cursing his carelessness, he looked around for an escape route. Noticing a carpet left out to dry, he snatched it up and ran to the edge of the rooftop.

Grinning somewhat manically, he turned to the men following him and waved before jumping off the building with the rug underneath him.

"Gaara!" the taller guard shouted, before muttering to his companion and muttering, "We'll get him next time." The statement earned him a pointed look and an exasperated sigh.

Gaara, meanwhile, had grabbed the corners of the carpet and had shifted it above him so that it slowed his descent like a parachute. He still landed rather hard and rolled in order to absorb the impact.

The red head stood up and help up the stolen loaf, appraising it for damage. He had held in his hand along with the corner of the carpet, and in his roll it had been smashed and dented in some areas, but beyond that was as good as new.

Hungrily he pulled off a part of the white bread and bit into it, chewing greedily.

As he was about to take another bite his eyes fell on a pair of a boy and girl close to his age of sixteen. A tall blonde with her hair in four spiky buns and forest green eyes, followed by a boy with his hair hidden by a black hood and dark brown eyes. His face was also decorated by purple paint in odd patterns.

"Temari, Kankuro," he muttered in greeting to his older siblings.

"Gaara," Temari scolded, "Where did you get that bread?"

"From the bread cart."

"Let me rephrase that. _How _did you get that bread?"

"Grabbed it when he wasn't looking," Gaara said shamelessly.

Before the blonde could get in another word, Kankuro cut in.

"There's another suitor coming to court Princess Kumiko, "he said with a smirk on his face, "wonder how long he'll last."

"I say a week," Gaara bet.

"Five days," his brother returned.

Temari meanwhile shook her head in exasperation. "She's got her head screwed on straight. Contrary to popular belief she could rule perfectly fine on her own, and she knows it."

"I'm sure the Sandaime sultan would be so pleased," Kankuro laughed.

The sound of trumpets suddenly commanded the siblings' attention.

"That'd be our visiting prince now," Kankuro stated, "should we go see what he's all about?"

The crazed grin on Gaara's face signaled his compliance. The brothers amused themselves by sizing up each of the princes and noblemen seeking out the Princess's hand and picking out and exaggerating any shortcomings they might have, as well as betting how long each would last in the palace.

The three followed the crowd to where the royal visitor would arrive.

Gaara managed to push his way through the crowd, leaving his brother and sister behind in order to see better. More instruments played a fanfare for the arriving royalty. The prince himself came riding up on a white horse. The man looked rather pompous and conceited making Gaara's lips curl with distaste.

As he was watching the prince's progression noted some children running into the street. The young boy and girl were in the horse's path. Moving on instinct Gaara hurried to where the children were, just in time to catch the prince's horse whip across his arm.

"One of your station should your respect your potential future subjects more," Gaara said icily. Though he was infamous for his disdain toward royalty, Gaara's bold actions sent murmurs through the crowd.

The prince fixed a dark-eyed glare at the belligerent red head.

"And one of yours, street rat, "he replied with a sneer, "should now your place. Your actions today could've cost you your life, but this will suffice.

The crack of a whip reverberated through the area and a white hot flare of pain forced Gaara's hand to his face. He pulled it away at the feeling of moist warmth and saw his hand covered in a bloody red that matched the color of his hair. The prince had pulled back his whip after Gaara had caught it and the leather against the teen's face. The royal seemed to be contemplating another lashing, but instead turned to the gates, past the guards, Kotetsu and Izumo, then rode through to the palace.

Seeing their brother's foolish actions and the resulting consequence, Temari and Kankuro had rushed through the dispersing crowd toward where he stood in the middle of the street.

The two siblings were beat to his side by said palace gate guards. Kotetsu and Izumo were examining the long bloody stripe that started on Gaara's cheek and ran down his face, ending in a red line the faded into the pale skin at his neck.

"It's not that deep. It should heal relatively well, but it will probably scar," Izumo finished.

"That teme, thinking he can beat on anyone he wants," Kotetsu growled, "hope Kumiko sets him straight.

Gaara quickly pulled away after bandages were placed over the wound, not enjoying the closeness the examination called for. He turned to leave, Kankuro following worriedly behind. Temari cast a concerned glance toward her brother's retreating back before facing the guards talking with them about how to treat Gaara's lash as well as other topics.

Kotetsu, noting the boys' departure waved a hand and shouted to them, "say hi to Baki when you see him for us would ya?"

Gaara nodded before walking through the streets. Kankuro had walked next to him for a while, but pulled away when the pair passed a tavern.

With a sigh, Gaara continued on to where he and his siblings lived, his fingers coming up to brush the white bandage on his face occasionally.

When the red head arrived in front of the run down old place he called home, he went to the side, where a wooden ladder was hidden beneath old rugs and other junk. Pulling the wood from under its coverings, Gaara placed it against the side of the building, underneath a hole in the wall.

Quickly he climbed up, turning to pull the ladder up behind him. While he could have gone through what used to be the front door, Gaara preferred the easy access to his own room. It also made a convenient escape route. Temari and Kankuro also had similar ways in and out.

Gaara sat down on the accumulation of blankets and pillows he called a bed. He stared out the hole he had entered through for a while, before reaching out and unrolling the nailed over it. It kept out prying eyes and some of the sand filled wind that was a companion to the city.

Carefully the street rat stepped over the ladder he had lifted up and walked over to the end of his room. There was a large section of wall was missing, where a flimsy piece of cloth hung. He pushed aside the cloth and his eyes lit up upon seeing the sight before him.

The palace sat straight ahead, magnificent in the light of the setting sun. Its glory instead of diminishing the smaller houses and other building surrounding it, enhanced their splendor and grace.

A chittering filled Gaara's ears and he looked down to see the little monkey who often came to his window. Gaara met him a few years ago, having found the little primate in his room, looking hungry and weak. He had cut up some fruit to give to the monkey who had snatched and eaten it greedily.

Abu, as he had taken to calling the monkey, showed up nearly every night, and would sometimes follow him around throughout the day. Grabbing the apple that was sitting on the ground near his bed, Gaara pulled the knife that was in his belt into his hand and began carving up pieces of the red fruit and handing them to Abu.

The tan colored monkey grabbed the slices and hungrily bit into them and swallowed. There were times when Gaara was positive he would choke, but it had never happened.

"Ever wonder what it would be like to live there Abu?" he whispered, eyes fixated on the castle, "Nothing to do, no going hungry, living a perfect life."

"Still fantasizing about the palace?" a voice behind Gaara questioned.

"Baki," he said turning around.

The former shinobi had taken in Gaara and his siblings. After an accident that had cost him his job working for the working for the sultan, Baki had lost everything, but his knowledge and skills. He had found the kids holed up in the wreckage of a building one night and had brought them here. Their "home" might still be an abandoned crumbling shack, but now at least had four intact walls and an actual roof. And Baki had trained them in self-defense. He hadn't taught them chakra control or jutsu yet, as either the siblings or Baki was busy.

"Just enjoying the view," Gaara replied nonchalantly.

The ex-shinobi looked unconvinced but let it slide.

"Well you better get some sleep. We have a rough day ahead of us."

The red head rolled his eyes at his father figure. Every night since the first night the three siblings had met the man this was what he told them. Of course the phrase was always true. Life on the streets was never easy.

As Baki left and Gaara laid back to try and sleep (he is an insomniac), the red head wouldn't realize just how true the words were.

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**A/N: Read and Review!**


	3. Independence

**A/N: For disclaimer see first chapter. This is my favorite chapter so far. As a forewarning to any Sasuke fans, there is a fair amount of Sasuke bashing.**

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Independence

Water whipped against the head sized boulder flying toward a slender white haired teen, smashing the rock.

"Nice job swee'eart," a rather short, black haired girl said. She had milky green eyes, and wore no shoes, leaving her feet bare and sand covered, opposing her status of a teacher to the sultan's adopted daughter, Chiyo Kumiko.

Said princess smiled, blue eyes shining while her face was framed by a few strands of white hair that had pulled free of her braid. The girl's olive skin was the last of her features that marked her heritage. She was the only survivor of the brutal attack and massacre of the Southern Water Tribe years ago.

"Now on ta Earthben'in'," the shorter girl said.

"Hai, donna," Kumiko replied, sinking into an Earthbending stance. She repressed a sigh. Being the Avatar, master of all four elements, fire, air, water, and earth was exhausting at times. That coupled with her position as heir to the sultan's throne was enough to drive anyone mad.

The deaths of her older brothers had visibly aged her father, Sarutobi Hiruzen and made him all the more earnest in finding her a husband before her eighteenth birthday, as per law.

The master Waterbender huffed in annoyance at the thought. The suitors were all stuck-up jerks who only wanted her father's throne.

On the bright side though, her Earthbending improved with each suitor, as she would picture the men's faces on the rocks and would punch or kick the stones as hard as she could, or break them with ease when Kana sparred with her.

"Musume," came a voice that interrupted the rock throwing benders.

"Otousan," Kumiko greeted, smiling.

"Sul'in-sama," as respectfully as the belligerent Earthbender could be.

The aging man nodded toward the seemingly blind Earthbender. Despite the lack of her eyesight, the girl could still 'see' by using the vibrations of the earth to create colorless visions of her surroundings. He then turned to his daughter.

"Kumiko, there is another suitor here for you," he said hope shining in his eyes that prince would be the one.

A sigh passes her lips and irritation sparked around the Waterbender, catching the attention of the mound of white fur nearby.

Kumiko's animal guide, and one of her closest friends, a Polar Bear Dog named Fubuki, raised her head and whined softly, blue-grey eyes searching her mistress's.

The Waterbender placed a hand on Fubuki's head before replying.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Sarutobi nodded and went to find the waiting prince.

"Wan me ta shove a rock up 'is arse?" Kana inquired innocently.

Kumiko smiled at her friend's suggestion before saying, "a wonderful idea, but we wouldn't want to bruise the poor prince's pride and start a war.

"Darn prince's pet'y pride' Deser's a rock up 'is…" Kana muttered before stalking off.

"I'll be o'er 'ere swee'eart," she called back to the princess before bending a large boulder out of the ground to sit against unnoticed.

Kumiko winced at the destruction, but giggled at her friend until she heard footsteps. She straightened up and saw her father and the dark haired prince. The sultan seemed to realize his daughter was still in her training clothes, and cursed his obliviousness, but knew it was too late to be helped.

"Kumiko, this is Prince Uchiha Sasuke."

A lazy smirk appeared on the prince's face as he allowed his eyes to sweep up and down her.

Distaste made Kumiko want to curl her lip, but instead she said politely, "A pleasure to meet you Uchiha-san."

The sultan took this moment to excuse himself. He walked out of the garden, fingers crossed.

"Is this how you always dress?" Sasuke said, "No matter. We'll soon fix that."

Kumiko could feel her disgust for the arrogant jerk rising by the second. Maybe she should of let Kana put a rock up his butt. Or better yet, she could do it. It was a closely guarded secret, her status as the Avatar. She could probably get away with it.

As she was contemplating the finer uses of Earthbending, Sasuke had sauntered up next to her.

Fubuki growled low in her throat, but the Uchiha ignored her. The ground also trembled slightly, signaling Kana didn't like where this was headed.

When Sasuke's thumb trailed along her jaw, Kumiko's oasis blue eyes darkened and she spoke, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"I suggest you move back Uchiha-_'san'_, if you value your life."

Startled, Sasuke stepped back slightly. Unfortunately his foot landed on Fubuki, who snapped, cuffing the raven's legs, knocking him down. The enormous white canine placed a paw on his chest, pinning him, and growled more audibly.

Shinobi training took over, and the Uchiha formed the signs for a fire jutsu, preparing to blast the Polar Bear Dog.

Fubuki howled piteously at the burns, releasing her prisoner, and drawing the guard's attention.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had rolled out from underneath the Polar Bear Dog, and was crouched, kunai in hand ready to fight.

When the very air seemed to freeze and Sasuke tried to move his arm, only to find it immobile, and encased in ice, did he realize the severity of his situation.

Kumiko stood, dark, stormy blue eyes blazing and with water whipping around her, ready to destroy him should he make one wrong move.

Without warning a whip of water shot out and froze around the raven's waist, pulling him toward the infuriated princess. About a foot from her, he stopped and Kumiko hissed at him.

"I suggest you leave this place, and never speak of what happened. Do otherwise, and you. Will. Regret. It," she said enunciating the last phrase.

The Uchiha nodded earnestly, dignity in tatters. When he dropped to the ground, Fubuki jumped in happily, chasing him to the doors, while Sasuke tried to assuage his wounded pride.

During this a guard had been dispatched to find the sultan. Sarutobi came rushing toward the garden, only to meet Sasuke on his way out.

"Sultan-sama, I will not marry that out of control girl you call a daughter. Good-bye," he said, heading toward the stables, presumably to retrieve his horse and leave.

'_Well _that _went well,' _the Sandaime thought sarcastically. Muttering incomprehensibly under her breath, the old man approached his now calm daughter who was chatting amicably with Kana.

"I thought the poin' was ta not wound 'is pride. Oh well. Ya sure show'd 'im sweet'eart," Kana congratulated, "arrogant sonuva-"

The Earthbender cut off sheepishly at the sound of the sultan's throat being cleared.

"Otousan, I can explain," Kumiko said hurriedly, but was silenced by the raising of her adopted father's hand.

"I'm sure you have your reasons. You've never actually blown up on any of your suitors like that before, and I know how hard you are to anger in such a way. But, musume, it is less than two years until your eighteenth birthday. I just don't know what to do anymore," he said dejectedly.

"Change the law," Kumiko said.

"Kumiko, we've had this discussion before."

"You're the sultan! Why not?" Kumiko argued.

The man simply sighed in a way that said 'you'll understand eventually' before going back into the palace.

Kumiko dropped to the ground next to her Polar Bear Dog, leaning into Fubuki's side. Kana, understanding the girl wanted time alone, mumbled an excuse about being hungry, and left the princess on her own.

"I don't know what to do Ki-chan. I don't want to marry, unless it's for love," she said, "I want to do things on my own. I can take care of myself after all."

The Avatar went silent, lost in her thoughts. Suddenly, an idea entered into her mind.

"Ki-chan I know what I'm going to do," the canine raised her head, "I'm going to the village early tomorrow. Outside of the palace. Imagine the possibilities." Excitement rushed through Kumiko as she hurried toward her room.

About halfway there, Kumiko nearly ran into the person crossing her path. Only reflexes gained by the shinobi training she had begged her father to put her through saved her from a collision.

Kumiko started to apologize until she saw who it was. Red hair covered his head, but did nothing to hide the odd blue eyes of her father's advisor, Sasori. Kumiko didn't much care for the man, who looked only a few years older than herself. His intense, unblinking gaze was enough to make anyone shudder.

"Kumiko-hime," he said in his smooth voice, "you should be more careful of what's around you, and pay attention. We wouldn't want you getting into trouble.

Mustering all of the patience for etiquette she had left, she replied, "Gomen. I will pay more attention from now on Sasori-san."

As she continued on she felt the advisor's inquisitive gaze on her back, making her repress a shiver.

Kumiko entered her room happily. It was one of the few places she could fully display the culture of her home in the Southern Water Tribe.

Her bed was covered in furs she rarely used in the desert climate. Animal bone weapons and other decorations lined a few of the shelves in her room along with Waterbending scrolls.

A lone Water Tribe blue box lined with silvery white designs rested on the shelf nearest her bed. Inside was what Kumiko considered to be one of her most treasured possessions. A beautiful betrothal necklace her mother had given her, and one of the only things Kumiko had left of the woman. This was one of the biggest reasons Kumiko refused her suitors. She didn't feel love for any of them, and so had yet to perform her Mizu no Dansu. She would do so only when she found her other half.

Closing the box, Kumiko found some ragged clothing, and made it seem as peasant like as possible, before throwing it on over the Water Tribe outfit she usually wore. She put her water canisters on in a place where they would be hidden, but accessible. Already it had grown, and Kumiko waited for a few hours until the time just before dawn.

Silently, Kumiko slipped out to her training garden. Fubuki, who had come to her room earlier, followed close behind. She started climbing the tree that grew over the wall when the Polar Bear Dog nudged her foot and whined softly.

"Ki-chan I have to go. I may never get another chance like this. Please," Kumiko said. The white canine's shoulders sagged with defeat, before she used her head to push the Waterbender higher up the tree.

"Thank you," Kumiko whispered before she climbed the rest of the way over the wall and vaulted herself to the other side.

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**A/N: I think this is the longest fanfiction chapter I have ever written. And before anyone goes crazy with flames, I am a Sasuke fan too. I just couldn't help it. He's such an easy character to pick on. Oh, and before I forget, the Mizu no Dansu(Dance of Water) is a rite of passage that allows Water Tribe members to become adults. I only know what ChibiLover123 wrote about it in her story, so if you have questions, you should probably take them to him/her. Review please!**


	4. Collision of Lives

**AN: So this chapter's finally up. It just really didn't want to be typed...and I was also distracted. I blame my new Kingdom Hearts game! *grabs Sora from KH and hides behind him***

**Sora: Why am I here**

**Me: You're going to be my shield so my readers don't kill me!**

**Sora:*gives Aoi an exasperated look* I have better things to do *leaves***

**Me: Jerk...so read on and enjoy!**

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Collision of Lives

Gaara shook himself from the trance he usually slipped into in place of sleep. The morning sun had yet to reach the zenith of its heat, leaving the air cool, for a morning in the desert at least.

He pushed himself up off his heat of ragged blankets that constituted as a bed, standing up and stretching his long, thin frame. His hand went up to scratch an itch on his face, but was met with the thick white bandage covering his whip wound. He winced in remembrance, before continuing his morning routine.

The red head lowered his ladder and climbed down, before turning to bury the wooden construct under its pile of junk.

An agitated squawking alerted him to the presence of Abu who had decided to follow him for the day. The monkey climbed down from Gaara's 'room' and settled himself on the teen's shoulders.

A slight smile found its way across Gaara's usually stoic face as he walked toward the market in search of breakfast. He caught the expression, and wondered why it had happened.

He scaled the steps and ladders off the side of a building in order to reach the sun touched rooftops. He raced across the rows of buildings and arrived at the marketplace unnoticed.

Gaara stopped above the fruit stall and browsed the merchandise without the merchant catching him.

Spotting some fruit that looked appealing, Abu hopped down from Gaara's shoulder and onto a basket holding a collection of dates. The tan monkey began eating the sugary fruits, his soft chittering drawing the vendor's attention.

Gaara leaned over the stall's top on the opposite side and nabbed a few mangoes, bananas and apples, pulling up quickly before he could be caught by anyone.

Abu, who had made off nicely with an armful of dates, and escaped the furious vendor unscathed. The tan monkey found Gaara, who was sitting on a roof, stolen fruit in a small pile near him. The monkey finished off the dates he had brought back, before starting into the red head's pile.

Said teen was eating more slowly, his pensive sea colored gaze sweeping across the marketplace. His eyes were drawn to a figure moving gracefully through the crowd, seemingly fascinated by every stall and its merchandise. A tawny scarf covered her hair, and she wore simple brown clothing; a tunic with sleeves down to her elbows, and loose pants with boots that rose to her knees. The clothing was a bit strange for a girl, but no one bothered her, except to raise a few eyebrows. Her hands held the scarf around her head and the back of each portrayed a faded koi tattoo: one white with a black spot on its head, the other black with a white spot.

The red head was unsure of why he was drawn to her, but he felt the irrepressible need to talk to her. He moved across the building toward a way down and lowered himself into an alley nearby.

Meanwhile, unknown to Gaara, the girl, Kumiko noticed a small boy looking hungrily at an apple. She picked up the red fruit and handed it to the young boy.

"Here you go," she said. The young boy smiled shyly up at her before running off.

"Hope you have the money to pay for that," the vendor said threateningly, closing a beefy hand around her wrist.

"I don't have it with me, but if you let me go to the sultan-," Kumiko protested, before being interrupted.

"The sultan, eh? I doubt it. Do you know the price for stealing?" the man told her as he laid her arm across a raised wooden board and picked up a long, sharp knife. He raised the blade to cut off her tattooed hand. Kumiko gathered the water in her hidden skins to attack when a voice interrupted and pulled her hand from the board.

"There you are."

Kumiko stared with surprise at the pale hand that had wrapped around her wrist. Her gaze traveled up the arm to a pale face framed by a head of blood red hair. The right side of his face though was covered in bandages covering his ear, but stopping just behind his eye. The thick white wrappings also extended down his neck.

The boy, to whom the hand belonged though, was not looking at her, but at the fuming vendor who nearly took off her hand.

"Sorry for my sister sir. She not all right in the head." A slight nudge in her side urged Kumiko to go along with what he was saying. She decided to try it, and let a blank, glazed expression cover her face.

"She doesn't look like your sister."

"My family took her in off the streets years ago."

"She says she know the sultan."

"She thinks the monkey is the sultan," he answered in a monotone, gesturing toward the small monkey who had jumped to the ground from his shoulders.

Kumiko, amazed at the ease with which the lies slipped off his tongue, took the cue kneeling down and bowing to the monkey. She murmured praises while barely holding back laughter at how her otousan's face would look if he saw her.

The man stared incredulously at the tan skinned girl before shaking his head slightly.

Kumiko felt a hand pulling her up, and the monkey followed, jumping up on her and climbing up the arm of the boy helping her stand. She listened as her mysterious rescuer gave an excuse to leave to the merchant.

"Come along sister. It's time to see the doctor.

Kumiko playing along still turned her blank gaze to a camel and said, "Hello Doctor."

The red head seemed to be fighting back a smile as he carefully guided her away.

"Not that one."

When they were no longer in sight of the still reeling vendor, the red haired boy began running, grabbing Kumiko's hand and pulling her along.

Kumiko, still high on adrenaline, followed without a thought.

He stopped at the base of a crumbling building. His bright blue green eyes met her oasis blue.

"Can you climb?" he asked her.

Kumiko, sense returning now, was unsure if she should follow this strange boy who lied like it was a second language. Her pride got the better of her and she answered indignantly, "Of course I can."

The boy smirked a bit at her response before turning to the structure and climbing, using the holes and protruding ledges to reach the roof. Kumiko followed easily, all the while reassuring herself that this boy was safe. He had saved her from that vendor, he wouldn't hurt her.

"So you made it. Let's if you can keep up now," he said

.

Kumiko couldn't help but smile at the challenge in the boy's voice. She watched as he started racing over the rooftops. The waterbender followed, loving the way her treated her like her own person, and deciding she could trust him. If not she had bending styles to fall back on.

Gaara glanced at the girl following behind him, a smile still lighting up her face. She was keeping up well.

When they were far enough from the marketplace, Gaara stopped and waited until the girl was next to him.

"You know," she said, "you're lucky that man believed your crazy idea otherwise we both would've been in big trouble.

Gaara shrugged. "I've been in worse situations." Which was true.

She eyed him skeptically before asking a question. "Where are we going?"

At that Gaara took note of his surroundings. He wasn't usually so careless. With a start he realized he had taken her to his favorite spot in the entire village. The building was almost in the middle of the village and you could see everywhere it seemed.

In front of them rose the palace with its white walls and golden-bronze domes. Behind them, the village ended and the desert rose and fell in miles of pale tan dunes.

"We're here," his said, his eyes flicking toward the palace.

Abu, who had ridden the red head's shoulders during the run across the rooftops, dropped down and walked curiously up to the girl, gazing at her with interest.

"Abu, leave her alone," Gaara scolded.

"It's alright," the girl said reaching a hand out to the monkey. Deciding he liked her, Abu crawled onto her hand and up to her shoulder.

The girl giggled before turning to take in the view around her. Unlike Gaara, her gaze settled on the desert. Awe lit up her face.

"The palace, isn't it amazing?" Gaara asked. The girl turned from the desert and responded with a note of sarcasm that went unnoticed by Gaara.

"Oh it's wonderful."

"Wonder what it's like to live there. To have servants, and valets waiting on you."

"Yeah and people telling you how to dress, how to act."

"Better than here, scraping for food and ducking the guards," Gaara said wistfully.

"You're not free to make your own choices," she continued as though she hadn't heard Gaara.

"Sometimes you feel so…"

"You're just so…"

"Trapped," the pair said together.

Sasori walked through the sliding panel of the wall, allowing it to close behind him. Next to him, stood a blonde haired man with extremely long bangs covering his left eye.

"Sasori-danna, what are we doing, hmm?"

"Looking for our key to the lamp Deidara," the red haired man replied. He approached an odd looking machine, while Deidara walked off to a strange bowl shaped object. He dropped a white spider looking clay figurine into it. More followed and the bugs then proceeded to line up around the bowl's rim while one hopped in.

"Start it," Sasori commanded stopping to stand in front of a large hourglass in the middle of the machine.

Deidara brought a hand up with two fingers pointing toward the ceiling. "Kai!" he nearly shouted, and an explosion was heard from the bowl a result of the arachnid inside blowing up. Consequently chakra and other energies were absorbed into the mechanism, making it start up with a groan and the grinding of wooden gears.

The sand within the hourglass began whirling as Sasori pulled a diamond ring, a "gift" from the sultan, from a pocket in his robe and placed in a small stand protruding from the hourglass.

"Show me the diamond in the rough," he said, s strings of chakra trailed from his fingers to the glass. That, accompanied by the sporadic shouts of "Kai" and resulting explosions from Deidara began to create a picture from the swirling storm of sand and chakra within the seal reinforced glass of the hourglass.

Two people jumping across the rooftops, one following the other. A girl wearing loose brown pants and a tunic with her head covered and olive skin. A boy with crimson hair, the color of blood, and a bandage on the right side of his face, leading and whom the hourglass picture was focused on.

"So this is him," Sasori murmured, motioning for Deidara to stop while removing his own strings and the ring from the machine.

"Our diamond in the rough."

Gaara was still shocked that this girl he had just met had feeling so similar to his own. So shocked, he almost didn't notice the flare of chakra that alerted him to the use of a jutsu.

He dodged, knocking the girl away as well. A searing heat passed by him as Gaara turned to see a large fireball that would have injured either of the pair enough for to be captured, but wouldn't kill them.

"Do you trust me?" Gaara asked the girl urgently.

"What?" she said still slightly dazed.

"Do you trust me?" he asked again sticking out his hand.

""Yes," she responded hesitantly taking his offered hand.

"Then jump!" Gaara said as he pulled her over the edge of the building, where they landed in a pile of thick straw that he had noticed earlier. Finding escape routes wherever he was, was a habit pounded into him by Baki and years on the street.

"They're after me," the pair said at once, and simultaneously questioned, "They're after you?"

"Well look what we have here. A little street rat," the big, burly guard from yesterday said.

Gaara grabbed the girl's hand again and turned to run, only to see another pair of guards. They were followed by the fire wielding guard who walked down the side of the building using chakra. He backed away, knowing they were caught.

"Caught like a rat in a trap," a guard said reiterating red head's thoughts.

Hands closed around Gaara's upper arms as he struggled, but his fighting was to no avail. The girl punched one of the guards in the arm hard, shouting "let him go," but was flung aside on the ground.

"Oh, and here's a street mouse."

Seeing this Gaara resumed his futile resistance as the guards began dragging him off.

"Stop!" a voice shouted. All eyes flew to the girl as she threw back her headscarf and proclaimed, "Release him, by order of the princess."

A collective gasp escaped the group, while Gaara exclaimed softly in confusion, "the princess?"

* * *

**AN:*holds out can and rattles it* Please review. It's for a good cause. Next chapter we return to the Cave of Wonders!**


	5. The Lamp

**AN: Well it took me longer to type this than I expected. 14 notebook pages! It's finally finished though, so enjoy!**

* * *

The Lamp

Gaara strained against the bar locking his wrist above his head. Red chafe lines already marked his wrists, so he stopped, knowing if he continued the skin would wear off completely and blood would drip down his arms.

"She was the princess. I don't believe it. I must have sounded so stupid to her," he said to himself.

A familiar chittering interrupted his self-berating and Gaara looked up to see Abu holding what appeared to be a ring of keys. He had no idea how the monkey had gotten ahold of the keys or why he'd returned, but Gaara decided it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Abu crawled down from the high window he had entered through to where Gaara was sitting. The furry thief sat on the bar trying the keys in the lock until he found the one that worked. He twisted the key and pushed the bars of his human companion.

Rubbing his wrists, Gaara stood and looked around his cell.

"Thanks for letting me out of that Abu, but I'm still stuck behind a locked door he said with a sigh.

"Well that depends, hmm," an unfamiliar voice said, on if you know where to look."

Gaara whirled around, body tensing. He was met with the sight of a man (at least he thought it was a man) stood there. He had long lank looking blonde hair in a ponytail, and long bangs covering his left eye. He was dressed in a simple that were so worn they could almost be rags. He also stood strangely, favoring his left leg.

"What do you mean?" Gaara asked suspiciously, senses still on full alert.

In response the man bent down and pushed away a block in the wall, where Gaara could see sand raging through the air.

Still not trusting the stranger, Gaara asked a question.

"Who are you?"

"A fellow prisoner like yourself who has spent enough in this cell, hmm."

"Why haven't you left before if you knew about this?" Gaara said, waving his hand toward the opening.

The blonde man hesitated, appearing to have conflicting emotions before looking back to Gaara and sighing.

"I'll tell you the truth. There is a cave, a Cave of Wonders. It's said to hold incredible treasures, beyond one's wildest dreams. I know how to get there, but I can't go alone. My leg got busted up by one of the guards when I first came here, hmm," he said gesturing to his left leg. "Never healed right and I can't walk well anymore. I'd never be able to navigate the desert, much less a cave. There is one thing I want more than anything in there though. A golden lamp, hmm. Help me get it and I'll make sure you're rewarded nicely, hmm." The man finished.

Many questions and red flags ran through Gaara's mind at this request, but at the forefront was the thought of reward. He could court Kumiko with that kind of gold, and achieve his dream of escaping the street. A brief thought of his siblings and Baki, flashed through his mind, but he knew they probably believed him dead or in prison to the end of his days. "How will you carry out your end of the deal if you've been a prisoner for so long?"

"You can have your pick of the cavern's spoils. As much as you can carry, just bring me what I want."

Seeing the opportunities in this, Gaara nodded his acceptance while Abu squawked his agreement from the red head's shoulder. Besides, even if he was double crossed, he'd have his freedom. Another question reached the front of Gaara's mind, but he realized it was probably best to leave the man's business to him. He couldn't help but ponder the question in his mind though as he crawled out the hole and aided blonde in his passage.

_'Why does he only want a lamp? What makes it so important?'_

The dry desert wind blew sand everywhere the moment he stepped from the shelter of the prison. Gaara had to bow his head to avoid a faceful of sand. The way out was near the back of a stable, so the pair 'borrowed' a camel. Gaara had all intents of returning the beast as soon as he could. Luckily someone had been preparing for a long journey, so the camel was laden with food and water for the desert trek.

The blonde man, who had not given Gaara his name, rode the camel to save time, as he said.

The unfortunate red head was tasked with leading the camel through the desert. His bare feet sank into the loose sand making the trudge in the sea of sand longer and harder.

Eventually Gaara lost track of time, going wherever the man, whom he had learned had been trained as a shinobi (he explained that was how he knew to find the cave. He marked with his chakra on his first journey there), told him while being lost in his own thoughts.

He was jolted from his musings when he stumbled, and nearly fell to the ground. Gaara looked around, but saw nothing that could have tripped him. Deciding that while deep in thought he had just tripped over his own feet, and stepped forward again.

He was incredibly surprised when the sand seemed solid underfoot. The red head took a few more steps with the same result. He realized the sudden change in the sand's density had thrown him off, and he had misjudged his step causing his ungraceful movement. The grains also seemed to be urging him along, as it felt like when he stepped down the solidified sand pulled him forward slightly.

The change in the environment sped up the end of the journey considerably. When the blonde man told Gaara to stop, he gave no sign he had noticed the increase in pace, but Gaara would be more surprised if the ex-shinobi hadn't noticed.

Said man dropped heavily from the camel with a grunt, using the beast, whose head was occupied by Abu, for balance. The dismount from the two humped creature had weighed quite a bit on the man's crippled limb. Once he had steadied himself, the man pulled two metal pieces from this pocket. Closer inspection revealed to Gaara that the two metal pieces were two halves of a scarab beetle. When the stranger placed the twin halves together, the insect glowed gold and flew toward the dune in front of the, the trail of sparks in its wake lighting up the desert night.

The scarab crashed into the dune separating, each one landing on one side of it. A sudden rumble shook the sand as the beetle glowed brighter, and the dune rose, taking on the shape of a cat head.

The head's mouth opened, and it roared out its question.

"Who disturbs my slumber?"

Figuring this was the Cave of Wonders, with all the magic and whatnot going on. So like any sensible person, Gaara approached the titanic sand figure.

"I am No-name Gaara."

He could feel the head's glistening gaze on him, as if measuring his worth.

"Proceed. Touch nothing but the lamp."

The red head carefully walked toward the feline's yawning mouth, which doubled as the cave's entrance. His bare feet felt the solid sand under them, different from before, and he was surprised by the warmth he felt; both on his face feet, and face from the head's warm breath.

Abu, who had moved to Gaara's shoulder, let out a small squawk of apprehension. Gaara lifted a comforting hand to the monkey's back, before stepping over the cat's lips and descending cautiously down the torch lit stairs of sand.

The descent down seemed to last forever. When the stairs ended and leveled out, Gaara sighed in relief. It was quickly followed by a slight gasp of awe as his blue green eyes fell on the room around him. Piles of gold, jewels, valuable tapestries and other priceless items seemed to touch the ceiling of the room. The sand already bathed in light from the firelight, seemed incandescent against his pale feet, lit even further by the glittering stones and coins. Abu let out a sound of excitement, jumped down, and made to grab the purple carpet before him, but was stopped by Gaara.

"Don't touch anything. Remember?" A sound of disappointment from Abu and a nod, made Gaara relax.

"Okay. Let's just go find lamp," he said before walking on. Abu followed behind reluctantly. After a while, the felt something following him, and he quickly whirled around, only to see nothing. This happened three more times before Abu spotted the culprit. He chattered angrily at it, catching Gaara's attention.

"Abu, what are you-," he cut off in surprise when he saw what appeared to an abashed _carpet_ peeking around a pile of gold.

"It's okay, you can come out. We're not going to hurt you," he coaxed, while idly wondering if he was going insane talking to a pile of strings.

Said pile of strings walked out from behind the gold. It was mostly various shades of purple in color, with red and gold forming pictures along its borders. It had an aureate border with four golden tassels, one on each corner.

_'A magic carpet,"_ he thought in wonder.

"Do you want to come with us?" he asked it, as it edged closer, as if to follow them further. The carpet responded by…nodding enthusiastically and flying in a tight circle, the equivalent of a hug, around him and Abu, who protested sharply.

When the carpet ended its impromptu embrace, Gaara had an idea.

"Carpet?" he asked, getting its attention, "do you happen to know where the lamp is?"

The carpet straightened up, trying to look important and nodded. Then it flew off through the gold lined room to an archway that led into a corridor that seemed dark in comparison.

The group passed through a few more gold filled rooms, but mostly stayed in the dimly lit blue halls and slightly sloped staircase down, following the carpet's lead.

Gaara was surprised by the lack of traps. Sure there was the no touching the treasure rule, and the head probably kept out some characters, but he was unsure if the treasure rule would result in any actual danger. Best not to find out.

There were a few tricky spots of crossing, where boiling water swirled around stones large enough to stand on that dotted their way to the other side, but any nimble person could easily cross the gaps.

Eventually carpet led them through an archway that opened up into an enormous chamber. An unexplainable light at the ceiling provided enough illumination to see by, but focused on the top of the tall, steep rock that jutted from the cavern's middle. Stepping stones, similar to those before crossed the serene water, which did not appear to be boiling, to the rocky island. A sharply slanted, nearly vertical staircase was carved into its face and led up to its summit. There, the rock was flat with a pedestal rising from the stone, carved directly into it. On top of it, Gaara could make out a vaguely rounded shape with protrusions on each side. It pulsed with the light from above, suffusing it with a soft light of its own.

_'That's the lamp that the man wants,' _he realized. Gaara was starting off toward the stones in the water, when his eyes fell on a statue of pure gold holding a ruby easily the size of his head. He turned around and pointed his finger at Abu.

"Don't. Touch. _Anything_," he warned, enunciating each word.

The offended monkey gave him an innocent look as if to say, 'Me? Touch something? Never!' Fortunately, Carpet moved between Abu and the gem, which allowed Gaara some relief.

He returned to his former path, toward the coveted lamp. Nimble and graceful as ever, he leapt over the rounded stones toward the spire in the middle.

When he reached the island and saw the stairs up close, Gaara wanted to pound his head against something.

_'Kami, why do you hate me? Enough with the stairs!'_

After his mental rant about the utter pain stairs were, the red head began to climb. Going up was basically that. He had to grab the stairs above him and step up in a similar fashion to the way one might go up a ladder.

Following a few near slips, and one instance when the rock broke away under Gaara's bare foot, he reached the top relatively unscathed.

There sat the lamp in the middle of the stone pedestal, the light reflecting off making the gold object pulse softly. It was of simple make, the only real design being on the bottom. A pattern of purple and lilac triangles fanned out from where the base connected to the lamp body. It was also accompanied by the kanji for the number one in the center.

Gaara slid his hands under it, his right curling around the handle while his left closed around the spout. He was admiring the warm metal object, when a sound of annoyed squawking caused him to turn. He saw Carpet holding Abu back by his tail, while the monkey was trying to get to the goliath ruby.

"Abu, no!" Gaara shouted, too late as Abu had already slipped Carpet's grip and picked up the glittering red stone.

"Infidels!" came the cavern's deep rumble, "You have touched the forbidden treasure. Now you will never again see the light of day!"

The thundered death sentence caused Abu to apologetically return the gemstone, only to have it and the hand holding it melt.

Gaara, who had been trying to scramble down the stairs, felt them shift and go smooth, turning into a ramp that would send him into the burning lava below that had previously been water. He clutched tightly to the lamp, and prepared for the worst. He hit the bottom, and was launched skyward, only to land on something soft.

"Carpet?" he said as he saw the flying rug underneath him. The carpet was busy though, maneuvering through falling rocks and spouts of fiery lava. A small figure jumping across exploding stones caught his attention.

"Abu!" he shouted, and Carpet responded by flying low toward the monkey. Gaara just managed to grab him before the rock he stood on exploded from the heat.

Carpet then sped away from the cavern through the tunnels they had just walked through. They were now unrecognizable, clogged with debris, half melted gold, and the river of red-orange fire chasing after them.

The magic carpet wove expertly through the mini Armageddon, but had a near miss with a low ceiling that would have knocked Gaara and Abu to a burning death below, had Carpet not twisted them out of the way.

They could see the entrance and had nearly reached it when a large boulder fell, catching them all by surprise. Carpet was forced down and trapped under its weight. Gaara and Abu holding to his neck, meanwhile were thrown up and forward toward the cave's mouth.

Gaara managed to grab the edge of a broken stair as he slammed painfully into the rock, though fortunately nothing felt broken. The red head looked up and saw the blonde man.

"Help me up!" he shouted urgently.

"First the lamp," was the reply. The blonde's one visible eye was alight and dancing with joy.

Gaara hesitated, before relenting and stretching up his unoccupied hand with the lamp, which was snatched greedily from him.

"Now help me up," Gaara insisted, a hard edge in his voice to hide his panic.

The man stashed the lamp in his threadbare clothes, before closing his hand around Gaara's arm and pulling him up closer while drawing a gleaming kunai.

"What are you doing?" Gaara nearly yelled, sea colored eyes on the small blade in the blonde's hand.

"Giving you your reward!" he cackled, before drawing back the kunai as if to stab Gaara, before ominously repeating, "your eternal reward."

Eyes widening with realization, Gaara racked his brains for an escape. He was saved by Abu, who had scampered up the man's arm, and bit his hand, hard.

The blonde released Gaara's arm, shaking Abu from his hand. The red head had managed to grab the ledge with both hands, while Abu fell behind him, but caught the hem of his tunic. An explosion shook the rock around the hanging pair, and ledge Gaara was holding on to broke from the rock face.

Gaara could see the blonde's face as he fell, and hear his dark laughter. Managing to turn himself over, Gaara saw no way he could land and survive. Options exhausted, Gaara saw Carpet who had managed to pull out from under the rock flying toward them, but he knew it would never make it in time.

He watched as the ground rose up, and in desperation wished it would soften the landing and help him as it had when he was in the desert, pulling him through the deep sand.

To his surprise, sand flew from the ground and created a half sphere around him, stopping him as he sank into it before dropping slowly back down and dispersing into the ground.

Gaara had no time to wonder about what had happened before he passed out on the sand carpeted ground.

* * *

Deidara watched as the cave collapsed, smiling. _'Even if, miraculously, the fall didn't kill him, he'll never get out of there.' _

"Now to get the lamp to Sasori-danna, hmm," he said reaching for the lamp. Unable to find it, he began to panic. Frantically, he searched his whole self and everything nearby.

"Sasori-danna's gonna kill me, hmm," he muttered resigned as he turned, empty-handed, to run back to Agrabah.

* * *

**AN: Next chapter we meet our genie! If you can guess who it will be, you get E-cookies! Review please!**


	6. Shukaku

**A/N: Okay, a few things before you read.**

_Thoughts_

Normal Talk

**Shukaku Talk/_Thoughts_**

* * *

Shukaku

When Gaara's eyes flickered open, the first sensation he recognized was an ache that encompassed his whole body. He also felt drained, as if someone had sucked every ounce of energy from him.

He propped himself up, and was assaulted by a rain of sand falling from his hair, shoulders and face. His hand went to his and shook it out, Even more sand was dislodged and fell around him.

Gaara's head snapped up, and his eyes widened as he remembered the fall and the reason he was covered in sand. He made to stand up but his feet flared in pain, followed by a wave of dizziness and exhaustion. He realized the slide down the lamp's spire had made them raw.

Cursing quietly, his eyes fell on Carpet and Abu, who had just appeared to have noticed his waking up. Abu quickly scampered over to Gaara and began scolding him.

"Alright, alright. I get it Abu," he said before looking up. He sighed, "Trapped again. And that two-faced son of a jackal even got the lamp!"

At this Abu made a sound suspiciously like cackling before running behind a rock and grabbing something. He returned, bowing and holding out a glittering gold object.

"Why, you hairy little thief! Looks like such a beat-up, worthless piece of junk," The red head then spotted something he hadn't noticed before. Writing, covered by a layer of grime and dust.

"Hey, I think there's something written here, but it's hard to make out," Gaara muttered, rubbing his hand against the spot to clear off the dust.

Sand and smoke began billowing from the slender spout of the lamp. Gaara dropped the shuddering object in surprise. Sand continued flowing from the lamp spout. The grain began to solidify into an immense, vaguely animal shape.

"**I'm finally free! Here I come, baby!"** came a loud voice, **"ten thousand years give you such a crick in the neck."**

Gaara's eyes widened as he saw the dust kicked up by the moving sand clear. A sand colored raccoon with deep blue designs across its body sat in front of him. Said tanuki was enormous, easily able to reach out and touch both sides of the cavern at the same time. Its black masked large dark and gold eyes suddenly focused on Gaara.

"**Sooo,"** it said drawing out the word, **"you're the new master? What's your name kid?"**

Gaara, still dumfounded by the "funky demon" in front of him choked out a shocked reply.

"G-Gaara."

"**And I'll assume you know who I am?"**

The red head, recovering himself, shook his head, and received more fallen sand for his effort.

"**What? Well, guess I'll have ta tell ya then. I am Shukaku, the infamous Ichibi," **he (at least Gaara assumed it was a he) said loudly, causing Abu and Gaara's ears to ring.

"**And you Red," **Gaara shot a murderous glare at Shukaku, who reacted to it the way one might react to an annoying three year old. He ignored it, **"can be in control of my awesome power."**

Still indignant over his new nickname, Gaara's head snapped up at the demon's mention of power.

"What power?"

"**Ya have three years to use my power ta achieve three of your deepest, or not so deep, wishes. You'll lose the pow'r after whichever comes first happens," the sand oni replied. **

"What if the three years is up I've yet to fulfill my wishes?" Gaara inquired.

"**Too bad, so sad," **Shukaku answered.

"What exactly is your power?"

The Ichibi swept his tail across the sandy floor and raised it. The appendage was followed by a wall of the grains, and when he flicked his tail, the sand flew forward, forming into spikes before impaling the rock wall.

"**That's a decent example of the basics. You'll also experience increased stamina, resistance to most illnesses, and a faster healing rate."**

Abu, who had been watching warily, made an appreciative sound, while Carpet clapped enthusiastically, drawing the gigantic raccoon's attention.

"**Hey, Rugman, Haven't seen ya in a few millennia. Slap me some tassel," **he said holding out an enormous paw.

As the two caught up, Gaara thought about what such power could do for him. He could become rich, a prince even. By doing so, he would be able to court Kumiko. First though they had to escape the cavern.

"Shukaku? Can you get us out of here?" he asked the towering figure. Shukaku looked at him.

"**No," **he replied simply. Gaara's face was frozen in its stunned position. **"That's your first test of my pow'r," **continued the one tailed demon, **"actually, somehow** **ya called on it before I was even let out. When ya stopped your fall."**

"That's what that was?"

Shukaku nodded before speaking again, **"first you'll need the seal ta connect ya to my pow'r. If you choose not to accept the seal, we're done. 'Course, we'll be mentally connected as well, and your appearance may change some. Also there's no goin' back 'til three years or wishes is up."**

This arrangement didn't sound so bad to Gaara, but he figured if he was being warned there had to be a downside or two.

"Alright. I accept," he decided. No sooner had he spoken the words than Shukaku's tail pressed into his stomach and he fell to his knees. The waves of pain were excruciating and his whole body felt like it was crawling with flames. Just when he thought the pain would consume him, the red head felt it ebb and settle into a dull ache on the left side of his forehead and the area where the tail tip had touched him. The first sensation he recognized was an awareness he hadn't had before, as if he was connected to everything in the desert, down to the littlest grain of sand.

Gaara reached a hand tentatively to his forehead and felt the skin were the ache was. It felt strange and surprisingly like scar tissue. He needed to look at his reflection soon and see what that cursed tanuki had done to him. Next his fingers went to the bandage across his lash were the skin was itchy, like it was brand new. He peeled the white material off and ran his fingers across the skin, which felt as though it had never been touched at all. He then lifted his tunic and glanced down at his stomach before gasping slightly.

Fading black, inked kanji stretched across it like a spider web. The red head tried to rub it off, but found it had vanished completely. He looked up and glared at the smirking Ichibi.

"**Well, you handled that better than most. I'm sure you're wondering what just happened. That seal you saw will remain until our deal is fulfilled. It linked our chakra systems so that you can call upon the sand whenever you desire. The sand will also defend you against most attacks without you calling upon it. Though it will probably take a few days before you are able to manipulate the sand adeptly without my help," **he added amused as Gaara managed to lift some sand, before it exploded from his control.

"**As for the scar you now bear on your forehead, it's a strange thing that always appears during the sealing process. Over time I've come to believe it to be the deepest desire of da heart."**

Gaara's hand fluttered to the scar again, this new knowledge strengthening his desire for a reflective surface.

"**Well you wanna mirror Red, you better get us outta here. Open the cavern up and get us up there. I'll help some since it's your first time.**

'_How did he…oh right, mental connection. Stupid seal.'_

'_**Hey, Red, you're the one who agreed to this.'**_

'_Stay out of my head!'_

Irritated, Gaara surveyed the area around him, trying to decide what would be the best way out.

'_I need to go up.'_

'_**Tell the sand to lift you up then.'**_

He focused on the sand beneath him and imagined it lifting him toward the ceiling. He felt it lift and nearly stumbled. The movement made his concentration waver, and the sand began to crumble before he stabilized it.

'_**Keep going Red. I'll hold ya steady while ya look over the ceilin'.'**_

He nodded and continued up at a decent pace, managing to stop before he became a grease stain on the ceiling.

The red head began studying the rocks around him carefully; reaching with his new found power at the sand oni's bidding to search for weaknesses in the rock face.

After about five minutes of probing with his recently acquired chakra abilities, Gaara found a weaker part of the cave ceiling that had very little caved in over it.

'_**Now make a spike from the sand and use the chakra in it to harden it. Then stab it into the fissure. Before you do that though, lift us up. Wait scratch that.' **_Gaara heard a sound similar to when Shukaku had exited the lamp before hearing the demon's voice again. It sounded different, muffled almost. _**'Carpet here'll lift us up.'**_

Gaara followed the Ichibi's instructions. After Carpet dropped off Abu and the lamp that now contained Shukaku, who was maintaining the sand they were on while Gaara formed the spike from the sand under his feet. He reached out for the fissure point again and forced the sand spear into it as hard as he could. Cracks flared out as the now loose sand drained from it and fell down back to the lift, leaving behind a sizable hole.

The rock groaned as the weight pressed down on its weakened support.

'_**Move us Red!' **_came Shukaku's sharp thought.

Quickly, so quickly he knocked himself over, Gaara frenziedly jolted the lift away from the crumbling ceiling. It had moved just in time, since as soon as the sand had been moved away, the rock gave. Sand and stone fell down, letting light into the cave through a swirl of dust.

Gaara moved the sand toward the hole and looked out. Pink and gold tinged the sky as the sun began its steady climb across the horizon. It seemed starting to learn to use Shukaku's power had taken longer than he thought. That or he'd been unconscious longer than he had believed.

The red head willed the sand to lift them up through the hole, which had ended up big enough that they were all able to fit, after the sand had been adjusted some.

Abu leapt off the sand platform holding Shukaku's lamp while Gaara remained on it thoughtfully. For some reason he could not fathom, he was loath to leave the sand behind. Perhaps it was sentimental. The sand had saved their lives and had been the first thing he had successfully manipulated. He was also fairly certain that most of the sand he was standing on had been the grains that had responded to his frantic call as he fell.

'_**If it means that much ta ya, keep it. Actually it happens to all the jinchuuriki, that is, those who accept a contract with me. They become attached to the first sand they manipulated, keep it, and then the sand becomes more easily manipulated. It's faster, more agile, stronger. Details like that. Anyway, harden the sand into a shape you can easily lug around,' **_Shukaku thought, answering Gaara's unspoken question.

The sand user thought carefully about what shape he wanted the sand to take. Something easy to carry and suited to his personality. In his musings, he had dropped off the sand, and it formed loosely to the pictures in his head. Hel looked over each form before dismissing it for the next.

An idea suddenly appeared in Gaara's head and he carefully shaped the sand to the picture in his mind. Once the shape was finished, he hardened the outer sand with chakra and by pulling the darker grains forward he created two nearly black kanji designs on it.

The finished result was a sand colored gourd with two spherical bulbs that abruptly narrowed in the center. The outer sand layer was cracked in a few areas purposefully and the two black symbols of kanji were easily visible. A cork was made from the remaining sand in the top, sealing the loose grains within the gourd.

'_**Ingenious Red,' **_Shukaku projected dryly,_** 'Hoe d'ya plan ta carry it?'**_

In response, Gaara lifted the white cloth belted around his waist multiple times. He wrapped it around the thin center and secured it over his right shoulder.

Gaara felt the Ichibi's grudging admiration at his idea, before the link became clouded, as though he was being blocked.

"So where's the nearest town?" the red head asked Carpet and Abu. His question was met with shrugs.

"Right. Well, I think Agrabah's this way," he decided, walking in his chosen direction. The lamp let out a small stream of sand, which formed into a miniature Shukaku.

"**I can see you still need some help with your new abilities," **it said exasperated, **"The sand is a part of you now. Reach out with it, and you'll find where you want to go."**

Even though he had used it successfully with the rock, Gaara was skeptical about the reach of his 'sand sense'. It might not reach out far enough to find a town or even an oasis where they could get water and supplies. Tossing aside his doubts for now, Gaara reached out toward his chakra the way Baki had been beginning to teach them and found it more powerful under scrutiny as well as darker, more massive and demonic. He assumed this as Shukaku's doing.

Awareness of the desert around him bombarded his senses. If he focused he could feel a single grain and what was affecting it. As he broadened his sight, per his friendly demon sensei's instructions (read: sarcasm), he became aware of the scattered plant life and sparks of warmth that indicated animal going about their daily business.

Wonder and awe rooted the red head to the spot as he marveled at the seemingly bare terrain around him. Never before had he realized just how the bleak desert thrived, hiding its inhabitants and making them strong.

A flare of annoyance from Shukaku broke the spell and he resumed his previous mission. He stretched his conscience out in all directions, searching for the telltale swarm of life and water of an oasis or the bustling sparks that would indicate a town.

The first thing he touched with his senses was an oasis. He marked the path there moving the sand in a particular pattern, before pulling out of the 'Desert Mode' as he decided to call it, and nearly collapsing.

"**Well Red, you're certainly more adept with my power than any jinchuuriki I've seen in a while," **the mini Ichibi said, sounding impressed, **"that was quite a range for your first go. Get on Carpet over there and I'll navigate us to the oasis while you rest.**

Gaara nodded thankfully before settling on Carpet with his gourd on his back. Carpet flew in the direction Shukaku had specified, while the sand user thought about the events of the day.

He'd nearly died on multiple occasions, had gained potentially the most powerful ability in the desert. All things considered, it had been quite an incredible day.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! I've been having a lot of problems with my back that may result in surgery, so I've been going to doctor's appointments. therapy, and sitting to type starts to make my back ache. Anyway cookies to everyone. You're all so smart guessing Shukaku...or I just dropped too many hints. Well, review please!**


	7. Guilt and Fire

Guilt and Fire

A sad sigh escaped Kumiko as she sat in one of the palace courtyards and brushed through Fubuki's fur. The Polar Bear Dog's thick coat was better suited to the cold polar home of the Water Tribes and was not the greatest thing to have in the desert's intense heat. In order to make it easier on her companion, Kumiko had taken to shearing Fubuki's fur to keep it from becoming too warm for her. The Animal Guide's blue eyes turned to the Avatar's face as she whimpered questioningly.

Another sigh blew past Kumiko's lips as she put down the brush and sat against Fubuki. It had been a week since her visit outside. The resulting consequence had successfully stopped any ideas of leaving again.

"Ki-chan, it's all my fault. That poor boy. And I didn't even know his name," whispered the Waterbender. Each day since his execution had been wracked with guilt. Even with her father's and Kana's reassurances that it wasn't her fault, Kumiko couldn't accept that she had no hand in the boy's untimely death.

On the bright side, the sultan had stopped bringing in suitor's for his daughter. Kumiko had tried to be thankful for that, but sometimes wished for the distraction they would provide.

The pounding of footsteps roused Kumiko from wallowing in her guilt. A boy skidded to a stop in front of her, whose breathing was slightly labored.

"Kumiko-onee," said the boy, "there's a girl here to see you about something."

The princess looked up at the boy and offered a small, strained smile.

"Arigato Konohamaru-nii," she said to the boy she saw as a little brother. He was the son of her oldest brother Hikaru, who had been killed in a fit with bandits and a few rogue shinobi that had taken him and his guards by surprise. That and the death of her other brother, Asuma at the hands of a pair of powerful assassins had struck a hard blow at her father. She was his only heir and her brothers' deaths had made him very protective of her.

Konohamaru nodded and walked with her to where the girl he had spoken of was waiting. Her skin was a shade so pale it seemed unnatural in the desert. The strange girl also had golden eyes and her hair was thrown up in a ponytail. It was also a shade of red that made her Kumiko's guilt threaten to swallow her up again. The golden-eyed visitor extended her hand as Kumiko approached.

"I'm Chinatsu Megumi. I came here to train you in Firebending, Avatar-sama."

"Please just call me Kumiko, Megumi-chan," Kumiko responded as she shook the girl's hand, "And thank you for coming. I've been wondering about my Firebending training."

The Waterbender spoke with as much interest and enthusiasm she could muster, given the circumstances. That said, it wasn't much, and the Firebender appeared o pick up on it immediately.

"Is something troubling you Kumiko-hime?" she asked.

Said girl snapped out of her downcast mood, offering Megumi a more genuine smile before answering, "No, I'm fine Megumi-chan. And please, no titles."

The amber-eyes girl nodded her assent.

"If you follow me I can introduce you to my father and Earthbending teacher."

Kumiko turned to walk further into the palace with Megumi following close by.

The Sultan was in his study going over a mission report when Kumiko and Megumi were admitted. He looked up and smiled at his daughter, happy to see her up and about.

"Otousan, this is Chinatsu Megumi. She's here to teach me Firebending," the tone of her voice held an undercurrent of question.

Sarutobi turned his gaze on the red headed girl next to his adopted daughter. Her sharp golden gaze met his and he found he was very intrigued by her. Her stance spoke of a strong-will, as well as caution and defensiveness, like she had been hurt and refused to let it happen again. He hoped his daughter would benefit from the Firebender's teaching, and also that Megumi would keep his grieving daughter from harm. Unfortunately he also knew they would have to keep a close eye on her to make sure she was trustworthy. One of the misfortunes of the shinobi world they lived in.

"Pleased to meet you Chinatsu-san," he said, subtly giving his permission to his daughter.

"You as well Sultan-sama," she responded.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Sarutobi dismissed the two young women turning back to the eternal stack of paperwork on his desk.

Kumiko led Megumi to her usual training courtyard, where Kana was waiting for their training session. The blind Earthbender looked up in interest at the approach of Megumi.

"Who's this, swee'art?" she asked.

"This is Chinatsu Megumi, my Firebending teacher, "Kumiko responded, "Megumi-chan this is my Earthbending teacher Misaki Kana."

"Good. She's been gett'ng pre'y good a' Earthben'ing. Needsa new discipl'ne."

Kumiko wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended by the blind girl's comment. She opted for the former, since the girl rarely gave out praise.

"I'd like to see your bending abilities in both water and earth as of now, Kumiko-san," Megumi said.

Kumiko nodded and slipped into a demonstration using water from the fountain before turning to Earthbending. She finished by kicking a decent sized boulder into the air before jumping up and kicking it hard. Aided by Earthbending the boulder crumbled into much smaller stones.

Megumi observed the display with watchful cultivated by years of swordplay and life among the brutal nobility of the Fire Nation.

"Impressive. You're Waterbending is masterful, and your Earthbending is quite good as well. Firebending is a whole new style though, more aggressive than the other bending disciplines," Megumi explained, "Firebending requires a powerful core too, because it deals with the breath of a bender.

"Firebending is also often associated with anger, an unfortunate stereotype that is proved by many of the people of my nation. But, contrary to popular belief, it isn't just powered by hate and anger. Fire is energy, life. It provides warmth, light, and so much more."

Megumi continued talking about a few more aspects of the nature of fire, mostly in answer to Kumiko's questions. Kana walked off saying something about a nap. Kumiko listened intently, absorbing the information.

Once all Kumiko's questions had been answered, they stood up and Megumi showed Kumiko the basic Firebending stances. The Waterbender mimicked her, moving through the stances with relative ease. Unfortunately the ease stemmed from the graceful flowing style of Waterbending beginning to seep into it.

"You're moving too much like a Waterbender. Yes, Firebending is still dancelike, to an extent, but it doesn't flow so much. Think of a flame, how it flickers and darts. Fire strikes fast and hard, which is why the most elite Firebenders can produce lightning. They have perfected these elements of fire to such a degree, that when they put aside the emotion that fuels fire, the purest form of the energy, lightning, is produced. So as you go through the forms, picture yourself as a flame," Megumi advised.

Kumiko inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breathing as she'd been instructed. In her mind she saw conjured a picture of flames and saw them dance. She exhaled slowly, before inhaling again and sliding into the first stance. The white haired teen pushed the air from her lungs as she transitioned. Using her breath to guide her, Kumiko moved through the stances, with its kicks and punches. When she finished she saw a slight smile on Megumi's face.

"Much better Kumiko-san, much better."

* * *

"Why won't it work?" came a frustrated yell.

"Kumiko calm down. You tried everything I told you?" Megumi asked trying to placate her student and friend.

Kumiko, flash of anger fading, nodded. She had been training with Megumi for close to a month now going through stances and strengthening her core. Each morning the pair rose with the sun, as was common with Firebenders, to train for a couple hours before eating. After some rest Kuniko would work with Kana on Earthbending. After that she either practiced Waterbending, or received lessons in accordance with her status as princess and heir to the throne.

About a week ago, Megumi had decided the Avatar in training was ready to call forth and use fire. Kumiko had been unable to conjure so much as a puff of smoke much to her frustration.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong," she said, "it just won't come."

Megumi looked thoughtful. "There is one other thing we can try," the Firebender said, "It's usually only brought up when the Avatar is being taught to master the Avatar State, but I think we can make it work for us." She sat down and gestured for Kumiko to join her.

"In the body there are seven chakras. Chakras are pools of energy that are connected to each other from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Generally they're only opened once the Avatar is ready to begin using the Avatar State as I mentioned before, but we might be able to use the opening of the Fire chakra to allow your Firebending. You can't open it completely though. Once you start opening chakras, you can't stop.

"Anyways, the Fire chakra. It's located as the stomach, and is controlled by willpower. Shame blocks it. What do you feel shameful of Kumiko? Picture it being pushed to the side so energy can flow through, but so that the pathway isn't completely opened."

Kumiko closed her eyes and meditated on what brought her the most shame. That she had disobeyed her father's rules and ventured into the village, particularly the end result of it. Her ineptitude with politics and how that affected the roles she held. She pushed those feelings of shame aside opening a small path in her mind. She felt a change in her stomach, as if energy was flowing more freely, but still with restriction.

She opened her oasis blue eyes and smiled at the red head in front of her.

"I think I got it. I could feel something change in my stomach area."

"Good. Let's hope it has the intended results. Try bending again."

Kumiko stood up and moved into the first stance, when she was interrupted by one of the chunin who served as her father's aides.

"Kumiko-hime," she said urgently, "your father would like to speak with you."

Kumiko's first thought was to protest, but she knew as soon as her father was done speaking to her she could return to Firebending.

She turned to follow the aide as Megumi fell in step beside her.

"Hime. Sultan-sama has asked you wear finer clothes, so if you could quickly change and meet him in the throne room?" the chunin asked.

Repressing a sigh, Kumiko nodded and headed to her room with Megumi. She stepped inside and quickly moved to her closet, pulling out one of her simple dresses. It was a light shade of blue made from light material with fleeting embroidered designs reminiscent of common Water Tribe decoration. Megumi had gone through an adjoining door to the room she shared with Kana in a red and gold outfit that was easy to move in. She was followed by Kana. The Earthbender appeared to have just rolled out of bed and wore the green and khaki apparel she always sported. She fixed her black hair in a loose bun, before sitting and waiting for Kumiko.

"Don' know why we're goin' wit' 'er. Swee'art's just meetin' wit' 'er father," Kana complained.

"I know that. But we're her guards as well, and something about this just feels…off," Megumi answered.

"Pro'ly jest yer par'noia."

The Firebender shrugged but said nothing. They were spared by further argument by Kumiko walking in.

"Are you two coming with me?" she asked surprised. She was answered by two nods.

'_Okay,' _she thought before walking out the door and through the halls toward the throne room.

* * *

"Are you sure about this Sasori? You have done much for us, but you don't have to follow through with this," the Sandaime said to his grand vizier.

"It is my pleasure to serve you in any way I can Sultan-sama," Sasori responded.

"Well, it will only be as a last resort option. Hopefully another suitor will catch my daughter's eye."

Sasori forced a smile, "Of course."

The pair turned at the sound of footsteps as Kumiko and her entourage approached.

The Avatar smiled at her adoptive father, then turned her eyes to Sasori next to him. She nearly froze, feeling the burn of anger build up inside her, before taking a few deep breaths and cooling her head. She would deal with him but now was not the time or place.

"Otousan, you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes musume. You know you're to find a husband before your eighteenth birthday," he help up a hand to halt Kumiko's protests, "Sasori and I have been talking and we have come up with a solution should you have chosen no one by then. You are to be engaged to Sasori. This engagement will be broken should you find a suitor you would prefer."

Something snapped in her. Be married to that power hungry, murderous jerk? She'd prefer that Uchiha Sasuke any day. Over the month since the village boy's execution she'd done some snooping and thinking. The guards had been surprised to see her, so the boy couldn't have been arrested for kidnapping. Even if he was a street rat, as they claimed, he couldn't have been so important for the guards to trap and capture him in such a way. He couldn't have been more than an extreme nuisance. So unless he's done something truly criminal, the red headed boy must have somehow caught Sasori's attention, and so the grand vizier had removed him.

As she struggled with her emotions, Sasori walked by the princess to leave.

"Don't worry Hime," he hissed in a voice only she could hear, "I'll make sure there are no other _males_ to catch your eye.

That was the last straw. She heard the thinly veiled jab at the boy. He had been a warning then. Sasori had had him killed to prove a point. Her hands suddenly felt very hot, and as her eyes darkened to a stormy blue, and the tattoos on her hands glowed faintly, her vision blurred red.

With an angry sound somewhere between a grunt and a yell, she punched at the form of Sasori next to her, before two pairs of arms grabbed her, effectively restraining her. Kumiko's vision cleared and she suddenly felt sapped of energy. She looked up and saw the sleeve of Sasori's right arm on fire. Megumi hurriedly let go with one hand and extinguished the flame.

It was then Kuniko saw something strange. The grand vizier's arm was smoking and appeared to be slightly charred. He noticed her gaze and quickly covered the limb,. Her fire couldn't have been so hot as to char flesh, could it?

"Kumiko!" Sarutobi's voice thundered. She turned toward him.

"Come here," he said more calmly.

Kana and Megumi released her arms and she walked toward the frowning sultan.

"Leave," he commanded to everyone else in the room.

Once they were alone, the Sultan looked at his daughter.

"Kumiko, why did you _Firebend_ at Sasori? I was unaware you were even able to," he said slightly incredulous.

"I couldn't. That was the first I've ever successfully Firebent."

"And why was it at my grand vizier?" came the Sultan's question With each he sounded less angry and more concerned.

"He..I," Kumiko wanted so badly to tell her father what she suspected Sasori was doing, but if the previous times she had brought up negative comments about the red haired advisor were any indication, he would brush her words aside. Her father was too trusting of his number one advisor.

"I'm sorry. I think it may be the stress of finding a husband, Avatar training, princess duties, and … my ill-fated visit to the village finally taking its toll."

The last of the Sultan's anger melted away as he embraced his daughter.

"Perhaps we should take a break from all of this. Would you and your friends like to take a vacation in Suna?"

Suna was a neighboring kingdom known for its oases and the people's ease in living in the desert.

Kumiko pulled back from her father and nodded excitedly.

"We'll go get ready," she said before walking out briskly. Sarutobi watched her go with a slight smile. Sighing he reached for his pipe, using a small fire jutsu to light it.

'_What am I going to do with her?'_

* * *

**A/N: This chapter didn't really come out the way I wanted it to, but I guess it'll have to do. Sarutobi may seem a little OOC, but that's mostly because I'm trying to give him some of the Sultan's traits from the actual movie. This chapter was also rough because I was having some trouble with the characters, but hopefully they come out correctly. From here on out, this story will start to deviate from the movie quite a bit, so that should be exciting. Well, please review. Oh, and since summer break starts in two days, hopefully updates will come faster. Also there I a poll on my page for which fanfiction I should do next.**


	8. Demon of the Desert

**A/N: Sorry this took so long! It was written about a week ago and mostly typed by Monday, but the last part with Gaara was hard to write because I really didn't know what I wanted to do with it. But now it's done so enjoy!**

* * *

Demon of the Desert

Gaara reclined in the chair of sand he'd constructed. Nearly two months had passed since he had made his deal with Shukaku and since then he'd learned to move the sand with only a thought. The red-haired teen had also earned quite the reputation in Wind Country as the infamous Sabaku no Oni, the Demon of the Desert.

It wasn't so far off he supposed. He had signed a deal with one, and tended to use chakra to make his eyes mimic the Ichibi's and to make them glow in his sandstorms. It was a simple sand based genjutsu Shukaku had taught him. By reflecting light off the sand it created a mirage like illusion, and was easy for him to control after some practice.

Once they'd rested up at the oasis he'd found, Gaara and his group had made their way to a small town he had reached with Desert Mode that sat near the border between the lands of Agrabah and Wind Country. It was there he finally managed to see his appearance. Dark circles had appeared around his eyes, making his fair skin seem even paler. He'd also examined the scar on his forehead and had flinched when he recognized the kanji for love.

Though he was still reluctant to acknowledge it, Gaara, deep, deep down wasn't surprised. Although he'd had his siblings and eventually Baki, he had always felt abandoned by his parents and often disliked by Temari and Kankuro for reasons unknown to him. Whenever he had tried to talk to the pair about their parents, pain would show in their eyes and they would hurry to change the subject. After noticing this, Gaara had eventually stopped asking.

After staying at the town for four days, practicing, nabbing food with his new abilities, and talking with the Ichibi, he went back out into the desert with Abu and Carpet. He couldn't stop himself. Gaara found that the desert was where he was most comfortable.

Shukaku had anticipated this reaction, it seemed, and as Gaara settled at the sizable oasis further into Wind Country, near the capital of Suna, which the kingdom had been named after, the sand spirit began discussing his wishes with him. The conversation had evolved into something neither had expected. As he looked back on the memory, the smallest upward twitch found its way to Gaara's lips.

* * *

The cool blue water of the oasis splashed against Gaara's face. The feel of the liquid made him realize just how thirsty he was. He cupped a handful of the water and drank it swiftly, enjoying its cooling touch down his parched throat.

After he had drunk his fill, Gaara let out a small contented sigh before settling down under the shade of a palm tree.

The mini Shukaku approached him and sat in front of him.

"**So, Red, been thinking about yer wishes?"**

"A little," he admitted, "I need to be a prince somehow, that much I know," At Shukaku's look he added, "So I can…court someone." Gaara's cheeks colored a little.

"**There's a girl in the mix, eh? Sounds like a princess or some other high noble if ya gotta be a prince."**

The jinchuuriki debated on whether or not to enlighten the sand demon before relenting.

"Yes, she's a princess. Her father is the sultan of Agrabah, where I come from."

"**So yer wishes so far are one, become a prince, and two get this girl. Anything else?"**

He hadn't really considered much else. With those two wishes he would no longer be on the streets and hopefully would have the girl of his dreams. What more did he want?

He looked at Shukaku. "What would you wish for?" he asked, blindsiding the tanuki.

"**Me?" **the miniature said, stunned, **"no one's ever actually asked me before. I think I'd wish fa freedom from this genie business."**

"If you don't mind me asking," Gaara said, "how did you get caught in that lamp in the first place?"

Shukaku was quiet for a moment before he began. **"It was thousinds a years ago, when my siblings and I were split from one single ten tailed beast. It was a malevo'lent creature, who relied more on destructive instinct than conscious though'. The famed Sage a Six Paths, father a shinobi, fought the Juubi and was able to split it into nine smaller, more intelligent creatures with tails ranging from one ta nine. He was the one who put me in this lamp as well as the other bijuu in sim'ler situations. He told us how sorry he was ta do so, but that he had ta in order ta protect us. See, people never really got o'er their hatred for tailed beasts. In their eyes we were senseless demons, and demons must be destroyed."**

"But Shukaku, aren't you more than able to defend yourself?" Gaara inquired, bemused by the Ichibi's tale.

"**As I am yes, but the Sage was worried 'bout us bein' sealed and then potenti'ly destroyed. The Sage himself was the first e'er jinchuuriki, someone with a demon sealed inside 'em. It's part a the reason those who accept our contract receive tha' name. We've been sealed together. Anyway, there are techniques the Sage feared people would use to seal us within others, then those people would be sacrificed in order ta end us. Mind you, we can only die and reform so many times. So he sealed ta particular items, me ta a lamp to protect us. Tried ta give us bijuu as much free'om as possible, but there were limits. Only way any of us could be freed was if our object a sealing was destroyed by an outside force a great power. It was a failsafe the Sage placed to release us for the day when we could live unhindered."**

Gaara sat without speaking for a few moments, trying to absorb Shukaku's story.

"Shukaku," he said quietly, "I'm sorry."

The mini demon, suddenly appearing old and weathered, heaved a sigh, nodding.

Suddenly the red-head's eyes hardened and met Shukaku's. "Shukaku, if I can figure out how and am presented with the chance, I'll break your sealing and set you free," he vowed vehemently.

The Ichibi looked up, shocked. He saw the sincerity in the boy's eyes and offered a slight smile.

'_**This boy, he's different from any of the other jinchuuriki I've had. Maybe he really is my chance for freedom.'**_

* * *

Still slightly smiling, Gaara stood and surveyed his surroundings. His permanent desert abode was probably far larger than he would ever need, but was a creation he took great pride in.

He had stumbled across the cave when stretching the reach of his Desert Mode. It wasn't really a cave so much as an enormous network of tunnels and cavernous chambers that went on for miles. He had dug an entrance to it by moving the sand and other materials away from the ceiling of a cavern with a mild drop to the ground.

Once he, Abu, Carpet, and a lamp encase Shukaku had entered it, they couldn't help but take a liking to it. Using chakra to mark the entrance, as well as leave sand indicators, they moved deeper to explore. The tunnels began to slope downward and emptied into a gigantic chamber that could easily fit three of Shukaku.

It hadn't been long before Gaara, drawing heavily on Shukaku's chakra had begun creating a sort of fortress. It was nothing incredibly fancy but, big enough to house a prince to be.

That was their plan. Make him a prince by wealth. He had a big castle(sort of), a title(maybe not the one he wanted), and he was well on his way to amassing the wealth of a prince.

The past seven weeks had been just that. Combining skills born from years on the streets and his sand abilities, he, Abu, and Carpet had pulled off multiple heists, all throughout Wind Country and the houses of some of the nobles in nearby bordering lands.

The nobles and others they had robbed were always rich and usually corrupt, hoarding their wealth from the people. His experiences had given way to a distinct dislike of such nobles and had ensured he quietly gave a portion of his stolen wealth to those impoverished people.

Since the start, he had amassed quite a fortune, soon to be sufficient enough to play the role of the younger prince who would not inherit his kingdom, and so was sent to marry into another. Tonight, Gaara planned to add a sizable chunk to that wealth, and begin the rest of his princely campaign.

Although he would be able to make most of his servants and guards from sand, he would need a few real guards and advisors who would keep their lips sealed. He considered his siblings and Baki for the job, but was hesitant to involve them if things went south and his lie was unraveled. Also contacting them could prove difficult as he was supposed to be dead. They might not believe him, and if he was recognized by others…well that would spell trouble.

That was another concern with their plan. Even with the changes regarding his eyes and the scar, his appearance hadn't changed much. He could use the genjutsu illusions, but if a shinobi broke it, trying to explain it would not go well and would more likely than not put him back where he started. This time, even with his new sand abilities, he wasn't positive his lucky escapes from death's grasp would hold. Actually the red head was surprised he hadn't yet used up his allotment of that luck with his lifestyle.

Such concerns were for later though. Soon he would need to leave for the capital city, Suna for the robbery of one of the highest ranking nobles in the kingdom.

Perhaps, if Gaara had known of the consequences of the endeavor he might have changed his mind. Then again, perhaps he wouldn't.

* * *

Kumiko smiled as she walked through Suna's with Megumi and Kana. Though she was only permitted to wander about the Upper District, it felt good to have some freedom. She wasn't sure she could face the lower districts yet anyway.

Here, she wasn't a princess either. She had never before left Agrabah, so no one would recognize her. After some compromise she had managed to get her father to allow her to visit under the title of nobility, instead of her royal status. It was quite the relief though. While she still retained most of the luxuries she had grown up with, the pressure and expectations accompanying being heir to the throne were lifted temporarily.

Unfortunately, Megumi and Kana weren't as relaxed. In order to keep Kumiko's bending abilities unknown and to truly vacation, her Avatar training had been put on hold. Her bending teachers had become rather restless, and wary. Rumors of the newly risen Sabaku no Oni had spread like wildfire and had quickly reached their ears, though they tried to keep them from Kumiko. She needed time to unwind and not worry about the strange thief who was like a personification of the desert itself. Gossip traveled fast though, so they knew they wouldn't be able to keep it from the sharp Waterbender forever.

"Swee'art, whaddya say we stop 'n eat?" Kana asked, indicating a small café style restaurant. Going into was a few of the younger nobles Kumiko recalled from the dinners and other events she'd attended with their hosts.

Said hosts were the Duke and Duchess of Kuru, a sizable village about a day's travel from Suna. Between them and one other large village as well as many small towns was one of the largest oases in Wind Country. Most villages and towns sprung up around an oasis, but the Kitai Oasis was the most accessible and hospitable of the giants, making it with its fertile land, a prime spot for the kingdom's capitial.

Their host and hostess were close friends of her father and knew she was a princess. The duchess had grown up with her father and had been married to the duke to reinforce the peace treaty between Agrabah and Suna. Thankfully they had agreed to let that detail remain secret.

"Alright. I'm kind of hungry too now that you mention it," Kumiko agreed walking toward the restaurant's doors.

"Food sounds good," Megumi said, following after Kumiko with Kana next to her.

The trio walked in and were promptly seated at a table next to the nobles Kumiko had noticed earlier.

Their waitress quickly arrived and took each of the girls' orders. They talked amicably about random topics of little consequence. Well, Kumiko and Megumi talked with input from Kana on the subjects that interested her.

Soon their food came and the benders lapsed into the relative silence of eating. Parts of the conversation of the neighboring nobles reached them. One phrase in particular caught Kumiko's attention.

"…just disappeared in a sandstorm after stealing their gold."

"Who?" she asked the group of young nobles. The idea of a thief making the gossip of the nobles meant they were very daring, and potentially dangerous.

They looked over at her, startled by her question. The first to recover was a pretty girl with black hair and gold eyes.

"The Sabaku no Oni. You've never heard of him?"

Kumiko shook her head, causing the strands white hair framing her face to swing with the motion.

"You are a visiting noble so I guess it's reasonable. I would've thought Agrabah would know. They are part of the desert kingdoms, but whatever. Well anyway, he showed up about two months ago, as far as anybody knows. He quickly gained an infamous reputation and a sizable bounty on his head. See he robs nobles. He always shows up during sandstorms and rumor has it he can control them. I don't know whether it's true or not, but I know that no one's ever seen his face. Only a dark silhouette in the vague shape of a human with a large bulbous shape on his back in the blowing sands and a pair of gold, glinting eyes.

"How does he carry what he takes," Megumi asked, searching for any information she could find on the mysterious desert demon.

"The sand. It swarms over the gold, jewels and other valuables and just disappears. At least that what the guards who've seen it say. I've also heard he gives a portion of his spoils to the poorest people in that area of the kingdom. No one ever sees him though. Guards have disguised themselves as the poor, and lined up to receive a portion of the wealth, and find the man handing it out. They'll try to grab the cloaked person, but he either runs or vanishes in their arms, leaving the cloak and a pile of sand behind. It's all very mysterious and interesting, don't you think?" the girl finished, a dreamy look taking over her eyes.

"Asashin, stop daydreaming about him. He is a dangerous criminal who should be apprehended as soon as possible. And anyone with information him should take it directly to the authorities," the older looking of the two boys said sternly.

Asashin nodded, but didn't appear very penitent.

Kumiko drifted from the conversation then, wrapped up in her thoughts. Though she had tried to put it from her mind in order to enjoy her time away, she couldn't forget her suspicions regarding Sasori. The incident with her Firebending had only served to further her belief that the grand vizier wasn't all he seemed.

She couldn't do anything about it without help unfortunately. Megumi and Kana would help since they shared her suspicions something was up. Kana had confirmed that Sasori had no heartbeat, which was rather worrying. Maybe though, she could hire this Sabaku no Oni to help her secure the evidence she needed. If it was money he wanted, surely she could meet any price he asked.

First problem though was finding him. As far as she knew no nobles in Suna had been stolen from, so there were no clues available to her. There was a chance he would strike here, but who knew when that would happen if ever. She only had two more days left in Suna before she had to return home to Agrabah. If he did come here, what were the chances of her finding him and then stopping someone who could possibly manipulate sand?

Kumiko sighed at the thought. It left far _too_ much up to chance. Ideas continued to flit through her head but, they were either impossible fantasies, too far-fetched, or too unlikely for any to work.

Throughout the rest of the day, thoughts of her dilemma continued to mull around in the back of the Waterbender's mind. Nothing plausible came up.

Luckily for her, fate decided to play nice.

* * *

Gaara tightened the strap of his gourd, ensuring it would stay on during his journey to Suna. The powerful winds his sandstorms resulted in could be quite dangerous, but sandstorm was the fastest way to travel. Especially since Suna was usually nearly two days ride on horseback. He couldn't afford getting caught. He was relatively confident he could escape, but his plans would probably fall to shambles.

So it was off to Suna in a whirling maelstrom of sand and whatever else the storm picked up, to rob the second most powerful noble in all of Wind Country. They had chosen tonight because a few of the spies Gaara had picked up had reported the man was having a large dinner party tonight with many nobles attending. It would provide the perfect distraction for Gaara and the others. They could be in and out before anyone could stop them.

He knew people had quickly begun to associate sandstorms with his arrival, and were wary even when naturals ones blew in. He was counting on the cockiness of the top advisor to Suna's sultan to pull this off. The man, Lord Hokori, was disliked by most of Suna's people, but his high position made him a dangerous man.

He turned around to the sound of footsteps. His pair of spies had returned just in time. They were two teens about his age, and the only two whom he had let into his sand fortress. They were the only two who knew about his plans and what his face looked like. Gaara had yet to trust them with the origins of his powers, and was unsure if he ever would.

"Gaara-sama, the party will begin four hours," said the teen with long brown hair and pale eyes that had no pupils. The other spy, a boy with a ponytail of brown, spiky hair that looked like a pineapple, nodded, looking bored.

"Thank you, Neji, Shikamaru," the red head said, inclining his head to each of them, "You're coming tonight, so prepare yourselves accordingly."

The words caught both of their attentions, though it would be hard for the untrained eye to see. Neji's eyes glinted slightly with interest, while Shikamaru looked up and straightened just a bit.

Gaara turned, a slight smirk on his face, waving his hand to dismiss the two. He was grateful for their loyalty. Both of them had come from rough lives, but had the same ingenuity he'd had that kept them alive on the streets. The pair had been working together when he'd found them, running from the guards in a very familiar scenario. He rarely ventured into town, but had that day to gather supplies for the next robbery. He had offered to hide them, and though they had been skeptical they had accepted his help. When Gaara had coated them in sand and activated his mirage jutsu, the teens had been stunned speechless. They had been rescued by the Sabaku no Oni, and they knew it. On impulse, Gaara had offered them a job as spies, and they had accepted once more, still awestruck. Neji and Shikamaru had been sworn to secrecy and worked for him from then on. To this day Gaara was still unsure of what had possessed him to stop and help them.

Neji had been part of the powerful Hyuuga family of Suna, but had been smuggled out at a young age. The main house of the Hyuuga family sealed lower ranking members, or the branch family as they were more commonly called. In order to prevent this Neji's mother had taken him from there, while his father sacrificed himself so they could escape. When Neji was sick, his mother had succumbed to a terrible illness, leaving him to fend for himself, alone for more than ten years.

Shikamaru on the other hand, had lost both his parents in Suna's last war, orphaning him at nine. The Nara was incredibly intelligent and clever though, allowing him to survive among Suna's lowest. Unfortunately, he was also extremely lazy, meaning if something wasn't necessary for his survival, he was reluctant to do it.

Both had been taught the basic of being a shinobi and with Gaara's and, unbeknown to them, Shukaku's help began learning to control chakra. It was good they also carried some knowledge of their clan's techniques and in Neji's case, kekkai genkai from their parents, because despite the vast reservoir of knowledge the Ichibi had, those were not a part of it. Still, uncovering all the potential of their various jutsu were left to Neji and Shikamaru.

Gaara finished his last preparations, before taking the top from his gourd and placing Shukaku's lamp on top of the sand within. It was the safest place for the bijuu, and the red head never knew when he might have need of the Ichibi's assistance.

The jinchuuriki walked to the entrance of the cave to wait for the others. As he did, Abu apprehended him and climbed up to his shoulder, followed by Carpet, who hovered next him the whole way. The sand blocking said entrance lowered as Neji and Shikamaru appeared, courtesy of Gaara. Though it wasn't strictly necessary for him to do so. When Shikamaru and Neji had joined, the sand barrier had become an issue. With Shukaku's aid, Gaara had managed to place a seal on it. The seal was engraved into the sand and rock itself, looking like simple, natural lines. It had been created so that with a drop of either Shikamaru's or Neji's blood, it would open, before reforming behind them.

Gaara stepped outside followed by his spies and began conjuring his sandstorm. After his instruction, Neji and Shikamaru stepped onto Carpet, securing themselves with chakra. It would be easier for the red head if he only had to use the sand to make sure the magic carpet kept up rather than carrying the two teens. He also encased the pair in sand armor to ensure they weren't flayed alive. Soon the sandstorm had grown quite sizable, and Gaara raised himself up into it, while ensuring Carpet would stay nearby.

With a powerful thought, and a good bit of chakra, the red head directed the sandstorm towards Suna.

'_Here goes nothing,' _he thought.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter was originally going to have a small meeting between Gaara and Kumiko, but it was so long already, so I've put it off to the next chapter. I apologize for that. Anyway, hopefully this next chapter will be done much sooner. that is, if I can stop watching anime long enough to write and type it.**

**Please review!**


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